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April 09, 2007

Comments

Ken Romans

I propose there is already a secret weapon in our arsenal. It’s the IT baby boomer nearing retirement. Not all of them will be ready to fade away. Those who have not served in the armed forces are a latent source of highly motivated cyber warriors. They are the most skilled and experienced IT capability in the world.

I made this suggestion a few years ago to a prior CIO of Homeland Defense. Current policies and processes may prohibit exploiting this resource. This is a case where we need bureaucratic as much as technological innovation to win the Long War.

And it's not just about the baby boomers, but also about every generation that comes after them. We can have a constant pipeline of world-class capability willing to serve at a bargain. Could the greatest resource come at the lowest cost, right here in the U.S.?

Bob Wood

I've spent 30 years systems programming in the supercomputer industry (Control Data Corporation and Cray Research, Inc.) and at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I whole-heartedly agree with Ken Romans. I've been retired now for almost a year and find myself just as keenly interested in IT as I ever was. I hope to get the advanced degree I never had time for and to re-enter, somehow, this mind-boggling, civilization-altering business we got going in the 1960's. My story is important only in that I believe it's typical. Many of us are not old enough or tired enough. And our financial needs are not as great. We can contribute.

One of my new productivity tools for 2007 is a VOIP business phone. This post will interest readers in small offices or in their personal capacity more than those working in large organizations.

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